CHAPTER 814: 814: DIVINE GAME- CARD SWAP 63

Fifteen minutes before her time-stop ended, Rita had already slipped into a bar. She began arranging bottles of hard liquor in a very specific sequence.

Why pick targets off one by one when you could take out a whole crowd in one go?

Her plan was to blow up the busiest bar in the district.

Years of abusing [Waste Guide] had taught her this limit: simply moving bottles didn’t count as affecting other players. The effect would only trigger once she used [Drunkfire Cooking] to summon a fire dragon, ignite the liquor, and cause the explosion.

Of course, if she poured the liquor directly onto residents’ clothes, that would count as affecting them too.

If the strike failed, her time-stop wouldn’t end. If it succeeded, ending it a little early wouldn’t matter when it was about to run out anyway.

She loved using tricks like this to ambush Lightchaser—success rate: one hundred percent.

At the moment, Rita was using [Not Real ID] to appear as Wail, her details masked by [Forged Records]. She had also removed her wristband and the coat she’d stolen before the match, rolled them up, and stashed them outside.

In the final minute of time-stop, she retreated across the street from the bar.

[Drunkfire Cooking]!

Alcohol fused with fire magic, swirling behind her into a volatile fire dragon that crashed into the bar.

A deafening blast and a column of flame lit up the night—time began to flow again.

There had been at least three hundred locals inside, yet the hints she got were few:

[Hint: I’ve seen Them at the library]

[Hint: They like reading]

[Hint: They have no fixed home, They are everywhere]

Was the drop rate just that low? Was her luck terrible? Or had far fewer people died than she’d planned?

She doubted the last one—this was a carefully chosen spot, every citizen inside under level 20. She should have wiped them instantly.

Still, Rita had no habit of hanging around a crime scene. When no new hints came in, she ducked around the corner, scooped up her stashed clothes and wristband, summoned the Deep Blue Helm, and warped back to the edge of the Old District.

After removing her disguise and putting the wristband back on, she strolled straight into an ice cream shop.

Following the sign out front, she used her underage ID to claim a free ice cream that had a chance of granting a buff. She sat under the sunshade outside, eating while she thought about her three hints—and quietly cast [I Just Want to Improve So Badly] on the shop’s patrons, pocketing a little in-game loot.

Her pumpkin hat still restored 1% of her health every second.

"Likes reading."

The first image that popped into her mind was that robed figure who looked like a Death Eater.

"No fixed home" also fit, since none of the Old District’s eight residents had any personal belongings in their houses.

Sure, they might be keeping everything in spatial gear, but it seemed unlikely. Even she, with her magic backpack, still left signs of daily life all over her tree-tower home.

Her eyes froze on a pair of green wings peeking around the corner—attached to an absurdly beautiful face.

Pine Bloom from the Puppy Ranch? There was blood on them. Already scored a kill? Did they get a hint?

Pine Bloom spotted her too. Maybe afraid the Moonlight Marsh girl would draw the city guards, they vanished in a flash.

Too far to give chase—and Rita didn’t even try to steal their hints with a skill.

A new thought hit her.

Team match rankings were based on how many statues a team found. Fun match rankings came from wealth.

For the solo match... was it kill count? Or number of divine hints?

If she used theft and actually stole intel, would that expose her?

Again, she felt that invisible leash Moonlight Marsh always had on her.

Not that she could blame herself for the paranoia—Lightchaser had told her at least five times over the years that this evil skill must never be discovered by Moonlight Marsh.

She often wondered: how could someone like Lightchaser, who despised rules and order, love Moonlight Marsh so much?

If she didn’t, she wouldn’t have sent her apprentice there—even if Rita had said she wanted to go. Lightchaser wasn’t the type to care about a student’s opinion.

Well, truth be told, Rita was the same. No matter how many restrictions Moonlight Marsh had, she still liked it.

It was the best school in Kasilanar.

Then her face fell in mock regret. Wait a minute... she was in her third year now!

Hadn’t Lightchaser said that starting in year four, Moonlight Marsh took in transfer students with evil divine gifts?

Even if she got caught, she could still come back for her fourth year. Worst case—half a year expelled, then return with a new uniform.

She now suspected the only reason Lightchaser kept warning her was to make sure she didn’t get expelled before year four. That would mean Lightchaser would be stuck babysitting her full-time.

Finishing her ice cream earned her a +5% mana regen buff, six stat points, and over two thousand credits.

Her wristband kept pinging with alerts: violent incident on this street, attack in that district. Perfect for tracking other players.

But she wasn’t heading there just yet. Instead, she took off her pumpkin hat and spammed [I Just Want to Improve So Badly] on a few locals.

When her HP dropped to 5%, she punched herself hard enough to trigger [Mystic Force].

She was going to test that Death Eater-looking figure.

If they really were the god, she wasn’t walking away without knowing.

Back at the robed figure’s house, she detoured to the pink mantis’s place to grab a stick.

With [Nebula Bubble] active, she politely knocked on the door.

A few seconds later, it swung open—revealing the black-cloaked figure with no visible face or limbs.

Rita hefted the stick and brought it down on their shoulder. "Ha!"

This was an S-rank melee skill she’d learned—[Charged Strike].

The last time she’d used it on Lightchaser, it had shaved off a whole 0.5% of the elf’s HP.

This time? The figure’s health stayed at 100%.

Pathetic—didn’t even crack their defenses.

Rita put the stick away and said seriously, "Hello, I just moved in nearby. Thought I’d introduce myself."

The black-robed figure was silent for a few seconds, then slowly raised an arm. From the wide sleeve emerged bony white fingers. One finger lifted slightly—

Her shield shattered.

Rita flew backward, smashing through half the Old District’s walls before crashing into a small garden.

Even with [Mystic Force] active, the hit took out a third of her current HP.

Terrifying.

As she stood, she locked eyes with the black-bean gaze of the white bear.

A paw clamped down on her shoulder—

And hurled her into the air.

As she spun through the sky, she heard, "Hilarious."

She came back through the same walls she’d crashed out of, landing right in front of the robed figure’s door again.

They were now sitting on the steps, chin in hand, looking utterly bored, the other hand casually lifting that same bony finger at her.

Flat on the ground, Rita quickly threw up her hand. "...Wait!! I have something to say!"